Reuters
Miami, April 1: In-form Victoria Azarenka battled past an ailing but determined second seed Angelique Kerber to set up a Miami Open final showdown against Svetlana Kuznetsova with a 6-2, 7-5 victory here Thursday.
With the victory, the 13th-seeded Belarusian gained revenge for a quarterfinal loss to the second-seeded German at the Australian Open, her only defeat of the season, but had to fight tooth and nail to earn it in a 94-minute tussle.
Kerber, who had her upper left leg covered in heavy strapping, looked dead and buried on several occasions in the second set but was able to stay alive with a gutsy break when Azarenka served for the match at 5-4.
Parity was short-lived, however, as Kerber handed back the break in the next game and Azarenka did not waste another opportunity to seal the deal to move one win away from a third Miami title and second straight tournament triumph.
“I am very happy I stayed really strong in the end and actually started really well,” said in a courtside interview. “I started to dictate (early) and I think the beginning was really important.”
Next up for the 26-year-old Belarusian is Kuznetsova in the final, after the Russian held off a strong challenge from Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky 7-5, 6-3 in searing afternoon heat.
Meanwhile Kei Nishikori withstood a blistering early assault and saved five match points before battling past Frenchman Gael Monfils 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(7-3) in a bruising men’s quarterfinal. The Japanese No. 1 will face 24th seed Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals after the Australian upset 12th seeded Canadian Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(7-4).
